Newt Gingrich might be the best thing that ever happened to the arts.
Really.
When Gingrich ascended to the position of House Speaker in 1994, he and his cohorts in the short-lived Republican Revolution sparked a debate about public funding for the arts.

Coincidentally, Scott County Republicans had a meeting on the eve of Vice President Al Gore’s campaign trip floating down the Mississippi River. The keynote speaker was former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, and U.

Clear Channel Communications announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire KUUL-FM, KMXG-FM, KCQQ-FM, WLLR-FM, WLLR-AM and WOC-AM in Davenport, Iowa from Mississippi Valley Broadcasting, Inc., an affiliate of Sconnix Broadcasting, LLC, for the purchase price of $85 million.

Dan Cleaveland first got involved with the Celtic Highland Games of the Quad Cities as a sponsor. Then as a tug-of-war contestant. And then came the rock.
“The first thing they do is give you a rock and say, ‘You’re going to throw this,’” said Cleaveland, co-owner of the Blue Cat Brew Pub.